bradjock

I sure as hell won't bash you for that Madlith. You're 100% correct IMO. I'm terrible when it comes to defending Bear players. I can always find something positive: David Terrell: Practices hard, never gets hurt, and if he ever had a good QB he could be great. Archuletta: Busts his ass on every play & gives it 110% . . . he's just a step slow." Moose: A great leader, a great team guy & a great blocker." Tank: He may have legal problems but he's great in the locker room & will straighten himself out. Cedric: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He'll break a long-one once in a while . . . & then he gets hit & leaves the game. Jonathon Quinn did not belong in the NFL, but at least he was a good locker room guy. I can't even say that about Ced. We dumped Anthony Thomas for him. I'd take the career back-up A-train over Ced in a heart-beat.

Not exactly shocking news. We must like Matt Toeaina and Babitunde Oshinowo. Here's the PFT story: BEARS OPT NOT TO MATCH KENNEDY OFFER On the same day that word broke that the Jags signed defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy to an offer sheet, the Bears opted not to match it. According to Adam Schefter of NFL Network, the Bears made their decision on Tuesday, and Kennedy is now a Jaguar. The one-time first-round pick will get a chance to rejuvenate his disappointing career by working his way into the tackle rotation with the Jags, who need help now that Marcus Stroud has been traded to the Bills.

I don't remember the numbers, but I believe we also used a traditional poison pill to sign Ricky Manning Jr. Carolina was cap strapped, and we gave him a bonus that would be difficult for Carolina to match. As cap-strapped as Pittsburgh is, it would be hard to believe that the Bears or some other team wouldn't swoop in and get Starks. That'd give us a helluva a lot more flexibility when it came to drafting. As of right now, I'd say we have to draft an offensive tackle in round one. That's never a great position to be in.

Holy hell!!! Mariotti wrote a column bitching about something??? Wow. Who'd have thought? You'd think it was LT we passed on instead of Michael Turner. You have to worry about Turner since San Diego's 3rd string RB looked all-pro in limited time. Some of Mariotti's bitching was even more ignorant then usual. He bitched about: 1. Not flying guys in on private jets, and 2. Turner's from the Chicago area. Both are truly ignorant gripes. Daniel Snyder flies guys in and look how that's worked out for him. If the Bears approach the draft without making any moves I think we'll all be furious. But it's WAY to soon to throw any fits yet. IMO, we have two positions we HAVE to fill: 1. Offensive Playmaker--Either RB or WR. Julius Jones, D.J. Hackett, Bryan Johnson, etc.. 2. Offensive Lineman--Starting Caliber. Max Starks anyone? Two players minimum. If we accomplish those two things, I'll be satisfied. I usually don't read Mariotti since he's a one-trick pony who just bitches about everything. I'm going to get back to that.

It's too late for that. Benson sucks period. Angelo does look stupid for drafting him. The only thing in Angelo's defense is this: Christ almighty that was a horrible year for top 10 draft picks. We badly needed an offensive weapon, and the other guys available: Mike Williams, Troy Williamson, and Cadillac Williams, have all been huge busts. I have a bad feeling that we might be just happy to tank this season and spend all our money towards resigning guys like Tommie Harris.

There was the report that Johnson might have a deal with Buffalo and he might be coming to Chicago tomorrow. Has anybody heard any updates on this? I figure we might want Julius Jones, I really haven't heard of any teams interested in him. We have to move on a o-lineman at some point, right??? The last couple of years Angelo hasn't made any moves until early April. Of course I'm still salivating for any any news of guys we might bring in.

Agreed Hester. If it was 3rd & short, Gilmore was damn near always in the game since he's the best run-blocker. He was also our back-up FB and he caught a couple touchdown passes in 2006. I'd have liked to have him back, but his role would be diminished while Olsen's role will be increased.

That's true with the Rosenass clients, but it's pretty much inevitable. Thankfully Angelo has taken the "higher road" and kept a good working relationship with him. The kicker is, I'd guess that Ayanbadejo won't make what he turned down with the Bears. It looks like Jamar Williams will take over Brnedon's job on special teams.

Agreed. Next to Washington, I think the Steelers are in the worst cap shape. Starks is 26, and so he could anchor the right side for years to come. That would fix a glaring whole in the Bear's line-up. Draft an offensive tackle in the 2nd round as a potential back-up, or even start him at LG for a year. John St. Clair looked pretty good at LG for the last 3 games of the year. We could could do a lot worse then him as our starting guard.

Good points. I'll add, I really wish Rosenarce would get bit in the arce once. Briggs played the media, said he'd never wear a Bear jersey, and in the end, signed for what he was offered originally. He took one helluva a risk. If he would have blown his knee out, we're not having this discussion. It was a huge risk, and he didn't gain anything extra by it. I'm personally skeptical about Harris. There's no doubt that when he 100% he's the best in the game at what he does. But when is he ever 100%?

If Walker was healthy, motivated, and not a pain in the ass, he'd be a great addition. If I thought his productivity would get us over the top, I'd be all for it. I just don't see it happening.

In the past year Mike Williams was traded from Detroit, dumped by Oakland, and not wanted by Tennessee. All I have to say is this: He couldn't beat out Justin Gage for a position. Wow. I undersand the thought idea that he could still be great, but technically so could David Terrell. He's still floating around available I imagine. There's a reason why 3 teams have dumped him in the past year.

Damn LT, I read those Hackett stats & I'm a fan! We should break the bank for him! That's how this free agency stuff works. You start to think about what a guy might possibly do for your team, and GM's start over-paying, and fans start getting pissed. My guess is that there's not much of a difference between Hackett & Berrian. But Berrian had more of an opportunity, put up better numbers, and thus got the bigger contract. If Greg Olsen can develop into a prime-time player this season, our offensive will be a bit brighter.

Thanks for that! I'm guessing his value skyrocketted after Berrian signed. I'm guessing Johnson said "probably" and is waiting for hear from another team (the Bears) to see if they'll up their offer. But that ain't going to work. Angelo said, "Sobriety in the marketplace." With Briggs, there was a set number, and it never waivered. I'm guessing the same is true for Johnson.

I don't know much about Bell other then he's a top guard who's still availble. But why isn't Tennessee going after him? They're at the top when it comes to money available to spend on free agents. Why aren't they going after there own guy? I'm just wondering. I have no idea who the hell Bell is, but if he's the best guard available, we'd better go get him.

As far as our WR's go, the one thing I think you're unestimating is what a big role Greg Olsen will play. Considering we have to good TE's, they're both likely to be on the field a majority of the time. Those are two big targets. I don't think we trusted Olsen much this year, but I get the feeling Ron Turner doesn't trust any rookie very much. I anticipate Olsen will have a huge year.

What did he say???

I haven't seen or heard it either. PFT hasn't reported it and neither has buffalobills.com. Although it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he had.

I'm honestly not in favor of Julius because of who his brother is, but simply because he's widely reguarded as the #2 unrestricted FA running-back. Now that Berrian has left, it makes having a RB who can catch the ball even more critical. Julius isn't great at this, but Cedric is horrible. I'd rather have Turner, but if we signed Jones, he immediately becomes--by far, the best RB on the team.

Damn good question. This is based on memory, but I feel like we offered him around 16 million guaranteed for around 42 million. I could be wrong, but I think he took less then we offered him last year. Of course he already pocketed over 7 million. Either way, nobody is going to accuse us of over-paying.

From PFT: 'SKINS MADE A PLAY FOR BRIGGS Though the decision of linebacker Lance Briggs to re-sign with the Bears has created the impression that he had no options elsewhere, a league source tells us that the Redskins made a run at Briggs. It was, per the source, "very close" between the Redskins and the Bears. In the end, Briggs decided given the similarity of the numbers to stay home. Factoring in the $7.2 million salary he earned as a franchise player in 2007, Briggs will earn $28.8 million over four years. Factoring in the Lamborghini he crashed and abandoned, the number is more like $28.3 million.

Aren't we kind of hoping that Mark Bradley can be a possession receiver who also gets yards after the catch? At this point I'd be thrilled with Booker or Johnson.

Thanks for the info. I don't have NFL network. I was starting to assume Turner might be in the same spot as Lance Briggs.

That makes a ton of sense. On all parts. Except for the beer. I'm stingy damnit! The fact that Turner hasn't signed makes me think he's getting the "Lance Briggs treatment." Teams aren't as interested in him as initially thought. He might not cost that much. I'd be happy as hell with Turner or Julius.

Brandon Lloyd looked great at times on a horrible 49er's offense. That prompted Washington to trade for him and pay him the big bucks. Like every other free agenty signing, this deal wasn't thought out by the skins and it didn't work. Lloyd either suffered with injuries or sucked. Lloyd has a similar body-type to Berrian, and he's that same type of deep threat WR. I believe he's also similar to Hackett. I think we dumped Moose so Bradley could play his position. Wouldn't Lloyd make sense as a replacement for Berrian? I don't know, I'm just wondering why you don't like the guy.